ATP consumption by sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2 (cid:1) pumps accounts for 50% of resting metabolic rate in mouse fast and slow twitch skeletal muscle

ATP consumption by sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2 (cid:1) pumps accounts for 50% of resting metabolic rate in mouse fast and slow twitch skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 298: C521–C529, 2010. this study, we aimed to directly quantify the relative contribution of Ca 2 (cid:1) cycling to resting metabolic rate in mouse fast-twitch (extensor digitorum longus, EDL) and slow-twitch (soleus) skeletal muscle. Resting oxygen consumption of isolated muscles (V˙ O 2 , (cid:2) l·g wet wt (cid:3) 1 ·s (cid:3) 1 ) measured polaro-graphically at 30°C was (cid:4) 25% higher in soleus (0.61 (cid:5) .03) than in EDL (0.46 (cid:5) .03). To quantify the speciﬁc contribution of Ca 2 (cid:1) cycling to resting metabolic rate, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), a highly speciﬁc inhibitor of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca 2 (cid:1) ATPases (SERCAs), was added to the bath at different concentrations (1, 5, 10, and 15 (cid:2) M). There was a concentration-dependent effect of CPA on V˙ O 2 , with increasing CPA concentrations up to 10 (cid:2) M resulting in progressively greater reductions in muscle V˙ O 2 . There were no differences between 10 and 15 (cid:2) M CPA, indicating that 10 (cid:2) M CPA induces maximal inhibition of SERCAs in isolated muscle preparations. Relative reduction in muscle V˙ O 2 in response to CPA was nearly identical in EDL (1 (cid:2) M, 10.6 (cid:5) 3.0%; 5 (cid:2) M, 33.2 (cid:5) 3.4%; 10 (cid:2) M, 49.2 (cid:5) 2.9%; 15 (cid:2) M, 50.9 (cid:5) 2.1%) and soleus (1 (cid:2) M, 11.2 (cid:5) 1.5%; 5 (cid:2) M, 37.7 (cid:5) 2.4%; 10 (cid:2) M, 50.0 (cid:5) 1.3%; 15 (cid:2) M, 49.9 (cid:5) 1.6%). The results indicate that ATP consumption by SERCAs is responsible for (cid:4) 50% of resting metabolic rate in both mouse fast- and slow-twitch muscles at 30°C. Thus SERCA pumps in skeletal muscle could represent an important control point for energy balance regulation and a potential target for metabolic alterations to oppose obesity. (cid:5) 0.00002 with a coefﬁcient of variation of 5.6%. Muscle V˙ O 2 is reported at 23°C and 1 atm and expressed relative to muscle wet weight ( (cid:2) l·g wet wt (cid:3) 1 (cid:3) 1 ). High-energy phosphates and muscle metabolites. Muscle metabolites were extracted from freeze-dried tissue (25, 26), and both adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and inosine monophosphate (IMP) were measured by using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography procedures originally developed by Ingebretson et al. (32) and subsequently modiﬁed by Green et al. (25).

SKELETAL MUSCLE REPRESENTS ϳ40% of body weight and accounts for ϳ20 -30% of whole body basal metabolic rate (45,60). Like other cell types, a portion of basal metabolic rate in skeletal muscle can be attributed to the cycling of Ca 2ϩ across cell membranes, but very few studies have attempted to quantify the relative contribution of Ca 2ϩ cycling to resting muscle metabolism. Under basal conditions in skeletal muscle, sarco-(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca 2ϩ -ATPases (SERCAs) are responsible for maintaining a Ͼ10 4 -fold Ca 2ϩ concentration gradient across the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane and for keeping the cytosolic free Ca 2ϩ concentration ([Ca 2ϩ ] f ) at or below 100 nM (53). Under optimized states, SERCAs transport 2 mol of Ca 2ϩ across the SR membrane upon the hydrolysis of 1 mol of ATP (15,31,51). Early estimates of the energy consumed by SERCAs in muscle under basal conditions were based on measurements of the rate of Ca 2ϩ efflux from isolated SR vesicles and then the amount of ATP that would be required to reuptake that Ca 2ϩ was calculated assuming an optimal Ca 2ϩ -to-ATP coupling ratio. This approach yielded values for the energetic cost of SR Ca 2ϩ pumping of ϳ3.4 -7% of resting muscle metabolism (13,27).
Although direct measurements are limited, there is evidence to suggest that these values largely underestimate the energetic cost of SR Ca 2ϩ pumping in resting skeletal muscle. For example, another approach that has been employed to determine the relative contribution of SR Ca 2ϩ cycling to resting energy expenditure in skeletal muscle is to measure the decrease in energy expenditure following exposure of the muscle to chemicals that indirectly inhibit SERCAs by inhibiting Ca 2ϩ leakage from SR Ca 2ϩ release channels (CRCs). Using this approach with direct calorimetry, Chinet et al. (12) found that ϳ12-24% of resting energy expenditure in mouse soleus is related to Ca 2ϩ cycling across the SR membrane. Similar experiments on mouse soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles showed that 18 -22% of resting energy expenditure in both muscles is related to SR Ca 2ϩ uptake (20). However, for several reasons, these studies also likely underestimate the real contribution of SERCA activity to resting metabolic rate in skeletal muscle. First, there is no certainty that Ca 2ϩ leakage through CRCs was completely blocked by the CRC inhibitors employed in those studies (2,3-butanedione monoxime, dantrolene sodium); second, SERCA pumps themselves are a very significant pathway for leakage of Ca 2ϩ out of the SR (42); and third, SERCAs will be active in resting skeletal muscle as long as some Ca 2ϩ is present in the cytoplasm, unless SERCA activity is directly inhibited.
Surprisingly, no study has used specific inhibitors of SERCAs to directly quantify the relative contribution of SR Ca 2ϩ pumping to resting metabolic rate in intact skeletal muscle. Chinet et al. (12) attempted this approach but found it problematic to separate the effects of blocking SR Ca 2ϩ uptake from the resulting rise in [Ca 2ϩ ] f and development of contracture on muscle energy expenditure. To accurately quantify the contribution of Ca 2ϩ cycling to resting metabolic rate in skeletal muscle, SERCA activity must be inhibited directly in conjunction with myosin ATPase activity. This can be accomplished pharmacologically using the myosin II inhibitor N-benzyl-ptoluene sulfonamide (BTS), which appears to selectively inhibit cross-bridge cycling but only in fast-twitch muscles (11,49,58). An alternative method that should be equally effective in fast-and slow-twitch muscles is to simply prestretch the muscle to eliminate filament overlap prior to inhibiting SERCA activity (6,43,56). Here, we used cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), a highly specific inhibitor of SERCA activity (23,48), in conjunction with the prestretch technique, to more accurately quantify the contribution of SR Ca 2ϩ pumping to resting metabolic rate in mouse fast-and slow-twitch skeletal muscle. For comparison, some experiments with fast-twitch muscles were also performed with BTS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was approved by the Animal Care Committee at the University of Waterloo, and all procedures were performed in accordance with the Canadian Council on Animal Care.
Animal description and experimental conditions. A total of 93 sexually mature (8 -12 wk) male C57BL/6 mice weighing an average of 23.8 Ϯ 0.4 g were used in this study. Animals were housed two to four per cage in an environmentally controlled room with a standard 12:12-h light-dark cycle and allowed access to food (Tekland 22/5 rodent diet, Harland-Tekland, Madison, WI) and water ad libitum. Animals were euthanized, and the EDL or soleus muscles were carefully removed from both hindlimbs with tendons intact. Because of the time required for each experiment, only one muscle (EDL or soleus) could be assessed from each mouse. In total, 40 EDL muscles and 40 soleus muscles were randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions consisting of control (i.e., no CPA) and four CPA conditions (i.e., 1, 5, 10, and 15 M). The control trials were conducted with the CPA solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). An additional five mice were used for EDL experiments with BTS, and an additional eight mice were used for experiments to assess the effects of time on muscle V O2 in prestretched resting soleus and EDL.
Oxygen consumption in isolated intact mouse skeletal muscles. The isolated EDL and soleus muscles were mounted in the TIOX tissue bath system (Hugo Sachs Electronik-Harvard Apparatus, March-Hugstetten, Germany) for the measurement of resting muscle oxygen consumption (V O2). The TIOX tissue bath system consists of a moveable platform that supports the muscle and a force transducer (F30 type 372) for measuring contractile force. A movable jacketed tissue chamber that is fitted with a temperature probe and a Clarketype PO 2 electrode (model 1302) are also mounted onto the platform. The jacketed reservoir is connected to a thermocirculator to maintain constant chamber temperatures. Two parallel platinum plate electrodes are located on either side of the muscle for stimulation, enabling simultaneous measurement of force production and V O2. All components of the TIOX system are connected and controlled by individual PLUGSYS modules, and the data acquired from the individual modules are compiled, filtered, displayed, and stored by HSE-HA ACAD data acquisition software (Hugo Sachs Electronik-Harvard Apparatus).
Using 4/0 surgical silk, we mounted the isolated muscles onto a fixed lower hook attached to the platform and a top hook that passes through a hole in the lid of the platform and connects to the external force transducer. After mounting the muscle, we closed the tissue chamber to the atmosphere by gently raising it to the platform and tightly sealing it with screws and wing nuts to fasten the chamber in place. The system was made air tight by closing off the hole in the lid of the platform using high-vacuum grease (Dow Corning, Midland, MI). The chamber was then filled with Ringer solution (in mM: 121 NaCl, 5 KCl, 1.8 CaCl 2, 0.5 MgCl2, 0.4 NaH2PO4, 24 NaHCO3, 5.5 glucose, and 0.1 EDTA, pH 7.3), which was preheated to 30°C and aerated with 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide, through a port on the bottom of the bath until it overflowed out of the ventilation cap in the lid of the platform, which was then sealed. The contents of the chamber were constantly stirred with a magnetic bar and stirrer located directly under the oxygen electrode to ensure consistent oxygen concentration throughout the solution. The muscle length was adjusted to achieve optimal length (L o) for twitch force production, and then the muscle was given 10 min to equilibrate inside the chamber before we initiated data collection. PO 2 measurements were recorded every 4 s during each of three separate experimental trials at 30°C designed to quantify resting muscle V O2 and SERCA pump energetics. The PO2 in the bath (ϳ620 Torr) should enable adequate diffusive oxygen supply to support resting muscle metabolism of mouse soleus and EDL (8); however, to prevent the formation of hypoxia in the core of the muscle, all experiments were terminated before the PO 2 of the Ringer solution fell below 580 Torr. First, the decrease in PO2 of the Ringer solution was recorded in the presence of a resting muscle at Lo for 30 min. Second, the muscle was lengthened to ϳ1.42 Lo to eliminate sarcomere overlap and prevent activation of myosin ATPase activity during CPA trials. The bath was then emptied and refilled with fresh Ringer solution, and the PO 2 was recorded for 30 min. Finally, with the muscle still prestretched, the bath was emptied and refilled with fresh Ringer solution and either CPA (1, 5, 10, or 15 M) or vehicle (DMSO) was added with a Hamilton syringe through the vent in the lid of the platform and PO 2 was recorded for 30 min. After this final 30-min period, the muscle was returned to its Lo, and a single twitch was applied to ensure continued viability following CPA exposure. To further demonstrate the viability of each muscle preparation and the adequacy of O 2 diffusion, after the final twitch, muscles were removed and frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen for later assessment of high-energy phosphates [ATP and phosphocreatine (PCr)] and muscle metabolites [IMP and creatine (Cr)]. Because the CPA trial was always performed last, it was also important to demonstrate that muscle V O2 in resting soleus and EDL is constant over the full duration of the experiment (i.e., 90 min). Therefore, in a subset of experiments (n ϭ 8), muscle V O2 in prestretched resting soleus and EDL was recorded for 90 min in the absence of CPA (3 ϫ 30-min trials). Finally, in a subset of experiments with EDL (n ϭ 5), BTS was used to inhibit myosin ATPase activity as opposed to prestretch. For these experiments, after the measurement of resting V O2 for 30 min, EDL muscles were incubated with 25 M BTS (in DMSO) for 45 min to inhibit myosin ATPase activity, followed by incubation with both 25 M BTS and 10 M CPA for an additional 30 min. The muscles were maintained at L o for all of these incubations.
Calculation of muscle V O2. The muscle V O2 was calculated by multiplying the measured drop in PO2 with time by the solubility of oxygen in Ringer solution at 30°C and the chamber volume (12.7 ml). The solubility of oxygen at 30°C was calculated to be 0.001203 M/atm using the following equation: where kH is solubility constant of O2 at experimental temperature, kHo is the solubility constant of O2 in pure water at standard temperature of 25°C (0.0013 M/atm), ⌬H is the enthalpy to dissolve O2 (gas) in water (11.7 kJ/mol), R is the gas constant (0.008312 kJ·mol Ϫ1 ·K Ϫ1 ), T is the experimental temperature (30°C or 303.15 K), and To is standard temperature (25°C or 298.15 K). In reality, the TIOX system is not completely closed to the atmosphere, resulting in leak of oxygen out of the solution even with no muscle mounted inside the chamber. Therefore, to account for the oxygen leak, blank trials were done at the beginning and at the end of daily data collection. A blank trial measures the rate of oxygen loss in an empty chamber (i.e., no muscle). The average daily rate of oxygen leak is then subtracted from the oxygen loss in the presence of the muscle to give the muscle V O2. A sample PO2 tracing of a leak, rest, and CPA trial is depicted in Fig. 1. The average rate of oxygen leak (l/s) over the course of the experiment was found to be 0.010 Ϯ 0.00002 with a coefficient of variation of 5.6%. Muscle V O2 is reported at 23°C and 1 atm and expressed relative to muscle wet weight (l·g wet wt Ϫ1 ·s Ϫ1 ).
High-energy phosphates and muscle metabolites. Muscle metabolites were extracted from freeze-dried tissue (25,26), and both adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and inosine monophosphate (IMP) were measured by using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography procedures originally developed by Ingebretson et al. (32) and subsequently modified by Green et al. (25). Muscle homogenates. For Western blotting, homogenates were prepared with whole soleus and EDL muscles diluted 19:1 (vol/wt) in an ice-cold buffer containing 250 mM sucrose, 5 mM HEPES, 10 mM NaN 3, and 0.2 mM PMSF (pH 7.5) by using a hand-held glass homogenizer (Duall 20, Kontes). Total protein concentration of the homogenates was measured by the method of Lowry, as modified by Schacterle and Pollock (46).
Preparation of SERCA1a and SERCA2a protein standards. SR membrane fractions were isolated from white portions of gastrocnemius muscles and whole heart from 3-to 4-mo-old Sprague-Dawley rats as described in earlier publications (47,54). Subsequently, SERCA1a and SERCA2a were immunoprecipitated from the gastrocnemius and heart fractions, respectively (22). The purified protein (SERCA1a or SERCA2a) was confirmed through polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Ponceau (Sigma) staining. The purified protein was also differentiated with different amounts of BSA standard through SDS-PAGE, transferred to polyvinlyidene difluoride membrane, stained with Ponceau, and quantified with the use of a bioimaging system and densitometric analysis with GeneTools software (Syngene).
Western blotting. Western blotting was performed to determine the content and relative proportion of SERCA1a and SERCA2a in EDL and soleus muscles. Homogenates (SERCA1a, 0.075 and 0.25 g total protein for EDL and soleus, respectively; SERCA2a, 4 and 1 g total protein for EDL and soleus, respectively) were applied to 7% polyacrylamide gels, and proteins were separated with the use of standard SDS-PAGE protocols (34) and then transferred to polyvinlyidene difluoride membranes (Bio-Rad). After samples were blocked with a 5% skim milk suspension, the membranes were incubated for 1 h with either anti-SERCA1a monoclonal antibody A52 (59) or anti-SERCA2a antibody 2A7-A1 (Affinity Bioreagents). Then, after they were washed in Tris·HCl, pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, and 0.1% Tween 20 (TBS-T), the membranes were treated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated antimouse secondary antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology). Membranes were washed in TBS-T, and the signals were detected with an enhanced chemiluminescence kit (GE Healthcare) using a bio-imaging system; densitometric analysis was performed with the use of GeneTools software (Syngene). For quantification of SERCA1a and SERCA2a, standard curves were plotted [density vs. known amounts of pure protein (SERCA1a or SERCA2a)], and the amounts of SERCA1a or SERCA2a in a given sample (molecules/fg total protein) were determined from standard curves on the same Western blot (42).

RESULTS
Force responses of EDL and soleus muscles. The twitch and passive force responses recorded for an EDL muscle throughout a single experiment are shown in Fig. 2. The force responses for soleus were nearly identical to the response shown in Fig. 2 (data not shown). Twitch force was measured at the start of each experiment at L o ( Fig. 2A) and then at progressively longer muscle lengths up to ϳ1.42 L o (Fig. 2B) where minimum twitch force was achieved (ϳ7% of twitch force measured at L o ). There was a slow but steady decline in passive tension during prestretch trials (without CPA) probably due to relaxation of series and parallel elastic elements within the muscle. Although active twitch force could not be completely eliminated by prestretch, importantly passive muscle tension remained fairly constant during CPA trials (Fig. 2D), indicating minimal activation of myosin ATPase activity. Twitch force measured at L o at the end of each experiment following the CPA trial (Fig. 2E) was ϳ76% of initial twitch force measured at L o . These force responses are similar to what has been reported previously for mouse EDL under similar conditions (8).
Resting muscle V O 2 . The rates of V O 2 of the soleus and EDL muscles were measured at L o for 30 min at 30°C (n ϭ 40 each). The average resting V O 2 (l·g wet wt Ϫ1 ·s Ϫ1 ) at 30°C was ϳ25% higher (P Ͻ 0.05) in soleus (0.61 Ϯ 0.03) than in EDL (0.46 Ϯ 0.03) (Fig. 3, open bars). Prestretching the muscles had no effect (P Ͼ 0.1) on muscle V O 2 for either soleus or EDL muscles (Fig. 3). Resting V O 2 of both soleus and EDL was stable with time, as the rates measured from 0 to 30 min of incubation were not different (P Ͼ 0.05) from measurements taken from 60 to 90 min of incubation (Fig. 4).  Oxygen cost related to SR Ca 2ϩ pumping in EDL and soleus muscles. The percent contribution of Ca 2ϩ pumping by SERCAs to resting V O 2 was calculated by dividing the difference between the prestretch trial and the CPA trial by resting V O 2 (at L o ). A range of CPA concentrations (1, 5, 10, and 15 M) was used to determine the optimal concentration that would elicit maximal inhibition of SERCA activity without compromising mitochondrial function, which was assessed indirectly by measuring muscle high-energy phosphates (ATP, PCr) and metabolites (IMP, Cr). Control trials were conducted with the CPA solvent DMSO, which had no effect on muscle V O 2 (P Ͼ 0.1) in either EDL or soleus muscles (Fig. 5). In both EDL and soleus, there was a concentration-dependent effect of CPA on V O 2 with increasing CPA concentrations up to 10 M, which resulted in progressively greater reductions in muscle V O 2 (Fig. 5). There were no differences (P Ͼ 0.1) between 10 and 15 M CPA, indicating that 10 M CPA induces maximal inhibition of SERCAs in isolated muscle preparations. The relative reduction in muscle V O 2 in response to CPA was nearly identical in EDL (1 M, 10.6 Ϯ 3.0%; 5 M, 33.2 Ϯ 3.4%; 10 M, 49.2 Ϯ 2.9%; 15 M, 50.9 Ϯ 2.1%) and soleus (1 M, 11.2 Ϯ 1.5%; 5 M, 37.7 Ϯ 2.4%; 10 M, 50.0 Ϯ 1.3%; 15 M, 49.9 Ϯ 1.6%). Importantly, when BTS was used to inhibit myosin ATPase activity in EDL muscles instead of prestretch, similar results were obtained where 10 M CPA caused a 50.9 Ϯ 7.4% reduction in muscle V O 2 (Fig. 6).
Muscle metabolites. High-energy phosphates (ATP, PCr) and metabolites (IMP, Cr) were measured in both EDL and soleus muscles, which were freeze clamped after the CPA trial in the TIOX. Metabolite measurements were made on the freeze-dried tissue. Figure 7 shows the high-energy phosphate and metabolite levels for the DMSO and 10 M CPA conditions. There were no differences (P Ͼ 0.1) between the DMSO and 10 M CPA conditions for any of the metabolites measured in either EDL or soleus muscle.

DISCUSSION
Few studies have attempted to quantify the specific contribution of SR Ca 2ϩ pumping to resting metabolic rate in muscle. This is the first study to use a direct inhibitor of SERCA (i.e., CPA) to quantify the contribution of SERCA activity to resting energy expenditure in mouse skeletal muscle. The approach used in previous studies involved the use of CRC blockers (i.e., BDM and dantrolene) to inhibit SR Ca 2ϩ release, thus lowering [Ca 2ϩ ] f and indirectly inhibiting SERCA activity (12,20). We hypothesized that this approach likely underestimates the ATP turnover by SER-CAs in resting muscle because, even if BDM and dantrolene completely inhibit Ca 2ϩ release through CRCs, SERCAs would remain active and contribute to energy consumption at rest (4,42). Indeed, our results indicate that ATP consumption by SERCAs is responsible for ϳ50% of resting metabolic rate in both EDL and soleus, a quantity that is at least 2-fold higher than previously reported (12,20). However, consistent with our results, Dulloo et al. (20) found that the relative (%) contribution of Ca 2ϩ -dependent ATP turnover to resting metabolic rate was equal between EDL and soleus.
In this study, we measured rates of V O 2 at 30°C in resting mouse EDL and soleus muscle using the TIOX tissue bath system. With the exception of at least one other study (14), our finding that resting V O 2 was ϳ25% higher in soleus than in EDL is in agreement with most previous studies (18,20,56). The differences in muscle V O 2 that we observed between EDL and soleus correspond to an absolute ATP turnover rate by SERCAs at the whole muscle level that is ϳ24% lower in EDL (159 Ϯ 8.8 nmol·g Ϫ1 ·s Ϫ1 ) than in soleus muscle (209 Ϯ 11.5 nmol·g Ϫ1 ·s Ϫ1 ). With the assumption that [Ca 2ϩ ] f is constant in resting skeletal muscle, basically two main factors determine the ATP turnover rate by SERCAs in resting muscle: 1) the rate of Ca 2ϩ leakage out of the SR and 2) the stoichiometry of Ca 2ϩ uptake by SERCAs (i.e., Ca 2ϩ -to-ATP ratio). Measurements in mechanically skinned fibers from rat EDL and soleus indicate that, under normal resting conditions, Ca 2ϩ leaks out of the SR at approximately the same absolute rate in both muscles (38,39). CRCs and SERCAs represent the major pathways for Ca 2ϩ leakage from the SR, although SERCAs appear to be of primary importance in this regard (38,39,42). It is well known that the density of CRCs is about two-to threefold higher in EDL than in soleus (3,19) and that the SERCA density is approximately three-to eightfold higher  in EDL than in soleus (42,55,57). In this study, we found that mouse EDL contained ϳ4.9-fold more SERCA pumps than shown in soleus. Therefore, it might seem surprising that the rate of Ca 2ϩ leakage from the SR is the same in EDL and soleus; however, Murphy et al. (42) recently showed that the high content of calsequestrin in EDL muscle fibers helps to keep the [Ca 2ϩ ] f in the SR at sufficiently low levels to prevent high rates of Ca 2ϩ leakage through the high density of SERCA pumps. Assuming that rat and mouse fibers are comparable and that the SR Ca 2ϩ leak rates are the same in mouse EDL and soleus, the differences that we observed between EDL and soleus in ATP turnover by SERCAs would therefore suggest that Ca 2ϩ uptake by SERCAs is less efficient in soleus than in EDL, at least under resting conditions. A 2:1 ratio of Ca 2ϩ transport to ATP hydrolysis by SERCAs is considered to be optimal as it corresponds to the stoichiometry of two Ca 2ϩ binding sites and one ATP binding site on each SERCA pump (40,52). However, our values for ATP turnover by SERCAs strongly suggest that the Ca 2ϩ -to-ATP coupling ratio is actually much lower than 2:1 under physiological conditions. If the coupling ratio was 2 Ca 2ϩ to 1 ATP, the rate of Ca 2ϩ uptake (which is equal to the rate of SR Ca 2ϩ leakage in resting muscle) would be ϳ318 nmol·g Ϫ1 ·s Ϫ1 in EDL and ϳ418 nmol·g Ϫ1 ·s Ϫ1 in soleus, which is ϳ22to 26-fold higher than what has been measured in mechanically skinned EDL and soleus fibers from the rat (35,38,39). Taking into account the ATP turnover rates that we measured in this study and the SR Ca 2ϩ leak rate reported by Lamb and Cellini (35) for rat EDL (which would be equal in soleus), we can calculate coupling ratios of ϳ0.09 Ca 2ϩ /1 ATP in EDL and ϳ0.07 Ca 2ϩ /1 ATP in soleus. Interestingly, the calculated coupling ratios for mouse EDL and soleus are similar to measurements made in SR preparations isolated from canine cardiac muscle (10,21), human skeletal muscle (28), and various rat skeletal muscles (29). However, we are likely underestimating the true SR Ca 2ϩ leak rates in EDL and soleus under the experimental conditions employed in this study; therefore, these calculations also likely underestimate the coupling ratios in EDL and soleus. The amount of slippage/leakage of SERCA pumps increases with increasing temperature (16) and ADP concentration (38). Compared with the skinned fiber study by Lamb and Cellini (35), both the experimental temperature (23 vs. 30°C) and the ADP concentration in the fibers (ϳ0.1 vs. ϳ10 M) were higher in the present study. Higher coupling ratios have been reported for rabbit skeletal muscle preparations, and, in contrast to our calculations, the Ca 2ϩ -to-ATP ratio was higher in slow-twitch muscle SR vesicles (i.e., 0.98 Ca 2ϩ /1 ATP) than in fast-twitch skeletal muscle SR vesicles (i.e., 0.37 Ca 2ϩ /1 ATP) (44). The coupling ratio differences found between slow-and fasttwitch muscle were attributed to differences in SERCA isoform expression since SR vesicles from rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle only expressed SERCA1a, whereas vesicles from rabbit slow-twitch skeletal muscle expressed preferentially SERCA2a (44). In contrast, we found that over 90% of the SERCA molecules found in both mouse EDL and soleus were SERCA1a, which could explain why the calculated coupling ratios for each muscle are closer to the ratios that were  reported for rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle vesicles in the study by Reis et al. (44). One possible explanation for reduced Ca 2ϩ transport efficiency of SERCAs in mouse soleus compared with EDL is related to differences in the expression of both phospholamban (PLN) and sarcolipin (SLN), two homologous SERCA binding proteins that regulate SERCA activity by lowering the apparent Ca 2ϩ affinity of the pump. Comparisons between wild-type and PLN-null mice have shown that PLN also decreases the Ca 2ϩ -to-ATP coupling ratio in cardiac SR preparations, specifically at low [Ca 2ϩ ] f (21). Likewise, reconstitution experiments have shown that SLN uncouples ATP hydrolysis from Ca 2ϩ transport by SERCAs (51) and increases the amount of heat released per mole of ATP hydrolyzed (41). These results could be explained by SLN causing an increased rate of slippage on SERCAs (41,51), which would decrease the fraction of energy released during ATP hydrolysis that is converted into work and increase the amount of heat released (16,17). Both PLN and SLN are expressed abundantly in mouse soleus (5, 50) but not in EDL. This could explain why the absolute ATP turnover by SERCAs is higher in mouse soleus than in EDL under resting conditions; however, because resting V O 2 is higher in soleus, the relative contribution of SERCA activity to muscle V O 2 is the same in EDL and soleus.
We are confident in the validity of our results and our conclusion that SERCA pumps account for ϳ50% of resting muscle metabolic rate for several reasons. First, we used a range of CPA concentrations to ensure that maximal inhibition of SERCA activity was achieved in the isolated muscle preparations. The reduction in muscle V O 2 due to CPA exposure reached a plateau at 10 M CPA in both EDL and soleus, suggesting that SERCAs were completely inhibited at this concentration. If SERCA inhibition was incomplete, even at 15 M CPA, this would mean that, if anything, we could be underestimating the contribution of SERCA activity to resting muscle V O 2 . Second, to prevent the expected contracture of the muscle following the addition of CPA, the prestretch method was used to inhibit cross-bridge formation. Importantly, prestretch had no effect on muscle V O 2 in either EDL or soleus, suggesting that SERCA activity was not altered by stretch. As further support for this view, we have found that 10 M CPA inhibits resting V O 2 in mouse EDL by ϳ50% regardless of whether prestretch or BTS was used to inhibit myosin ATPase activity. It is also important to point out that, even if prestretch and/or BTS did not completely prevent activation of myosin ATPase activity as a result of elevated [Ca 2ϩ ] f during CPA trials, this would mean that we are in fact underestimating the contribution of SERCAs to resting muscle metabolic rate. Similarly, we could be underestimating the contribution of SERCAs to resting muscle metabolism if [Ca 2ϩ ] f was increased during CPA exposure and if Ca 2ϩ directly increased mitochondrial respiration (9). Third, 10 M CPA should have highly specific effects on SERCAs in skeletal muscle preparations (30,48). Nevertheless, we assessed muscle metabolite levels in EDL and soleus as a marker of mitochondrial function to rule out the possibility that the effects of CPA on muscle V O 2 were due to impaired oxidative phosphorylation. CPA had no effects on muscle high-energy phosphates (ATP, PCr) or related by-products (IMP, Cr), and the metabolite concentrations found in both EDL and soleus are within the normal range for resting mouse muscle (33). These results indicate that diffusive oxygen supply in these experiments was adequate to support resting metabolism, and importantly we can rule out the possibility that the effects of CPA on muscle V O 2 involved impairment of mitochondrial V O 2 . Finally, since resting V O 2 in both EDL and soleus was stable for at least 90 min, we can conclude that the effects of CPA on muscle V O 2 were specifically due to inhibition of SERCAs and not a result of a coinciding progressive decrement in muscle metabolic rate with time.
In adult C57BL/6 mice, the EDL contains Ͼ90% type II fibers (mostly IIB) and Ͻ10% type I fibers, whereas the soleus contains ϳ50% type I and type II fibers (mostly IIA) (1, 2). Our results do not identify the contribution of the different fiber types to muscle V O 2 or the relative contribution of SERCA activity to the metabolic rate of the different fiber types. It is worth noting that Murphy et al. (42) reported that virtually all of the SERCA1a found in rat soleus muscles were present in the fast-twitch fibers. Interestingly, the relative abundance of SERCA1a and SERCA2a mRNA levels in mouse (strain 129sV/Swiss 50/50) soleus also appears to match closely the fiber-type distribution (i.e., 58% SERCA2 and 42% SERCA1) (55). Importantly, the protein contents of the different SERCA isoforms in mouse soleus have not been quantified previously. In this study, SERCA1a and SERCA2a were quantified by comparing the Western blot band intensities of mouse muscle samples relative to purified proteins obtained from rat muscles. Although it is quite possible that the SERCA antibodies were differentially sensitive to the mouse and rat SERCA proteins, which would have caused an unknown level of error in the quantification, based on our results showing that over 90% of the SERCA molecules found in mouse soleus were SERCA1a, it is likely that SERCA1a is present in at least some type I mouse soleus fibers. Future studies should examine SERCA isoform protein expression in individual fiber types from mouse muscles to test this postulate.
It is well known that SERCAs play an important role in thermogenesis (9,16), but SERCAs may also play an important role in the regulation of whole body energy balance. With the assumption that skeletal muscle accounts for 30% of basal metabolic rate in mice (45) and that the results of our present study can be extrapolated to all mouse muscles at physiological temperature, SERCA activity can explain ϳ15% of whole animal resting V O 2 . It is also well known that SERCAs contribute ϳ30 -40% to the energy cost associated with muscle contraction (for review, see Ref. 7). Therefore, given that basal metabolic rate and physical activity account for ϳ60% and 30% of total daily energy expenditure, respectively (36,45), and that skeletal muscle accounts for ϳ90% of the increased energy requirements associated with physical activity (45), SERCAs in skeletal muscle may explain ϳ17-20% of whole body total daily energy expenditure.
In summary, the results from this study support the conclusion that ATP consumption by SERCAs is responsible for ϳ50% of resting metabolic rate in both mouse EDL and soleus muscles at 30°C. These results have important implications for the basic understanding of muscle energetics and suggest that the SERCA pump in skeletal muscle represents an important control point for energy balance regulation and a potential target for metabolic alterations to oppose obesity and other metabolic disorders.